The aim of this research was to assess global and socio-emotional development and infant's language of caregivers by means of the third edition of Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. Literature points peculiarities on the institutional setting and that presence or absence of mother can impact infant's development in several forms.…

Background: Several studies show that socio-economic status (SES) is related to the developmental trajectories of children with typical development (TD). However, few studies have analysed this relationship regarding children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as Down syndrome (DS). In this paper, we analyse the impact of SES in the…

In children with a hearing loss who receive cochlear implants (CIs) under the age of 2, regular assessments are conducted to monitor auditory and linguistic progress. However, the collection of authentic, representative, and reliable expressive language data on young children with CIs remains a challenge. The purpose of the study was to determine…

This study compared the developmental gains of preschool children with disabilities (CWD) and children without disabilities (CWOD) during a year they spent in preschools and examined the predictors of development in both groups (60 CWD and 57 CWOD) of children. Data on the social skills, problem behaviors, school adjustment level, student-teacher…

Background: Developmental language disorder (DLD) is common in children, but little is known about its association with quality of life (QoL) in middle childhood. QoL is a complex construct, aligning with an individual's sense of well-being and is related to functional limitations associated with DLD. Biopsychosocial models of disability account…

In a report of the effectiveness of MEHRIT, a social-interaction-based intervention for autism, Casenhiser et al. ("Autism" 17(2):220-241, 2013) failed to find a significant advantage for language development in the treatment group using standardized language assessments. We present the results from a re-analysis of their results to…

Little is known about outcomes of early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder reared in bilingual homes. There are concerns that social communication deficits among children with autism spectrum disorder may reduce the developmental benefits of early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder raised in bilingual…

This study evaluated the extent to which developmental change in coordination of social communication in early infancy differentiates children eventually diagnosed with ASD from those not likely to develop the disorder. A prospective longitudinal design was used to compare nine infants at heightened risk for ASD (HR) later diagnosed with ASD, to…

Evidence suggests preschool age students with disabilities (SWD) benefit from inclusive settings. Inclusive education has positive impacts on students' social-emotional, language, and cognitive skills. Yet, preschool age SWD continue to have limited access to inclusive education, and research suggests numerous reasons, including teacher practice.…

A recent study documented the efficacy of the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) delivered in a 1:1 fashion. In the current study we investigated the effectiveness and feasibility of the ESDM in the context of a long-day care community service, with a child-staff ratio of 1:3. Outcomes of 27 preschoolers with ASD undergoing 15-25 h per week of ESDM…

Hearing impairment is an exceptional circumstance that restricts the child's ability to communicate verbally. Depression is a common stress-related response for hearing parents of children with hearing loss. Evidence suggests that mothers are more inclined than fathers to experience depression in response to their child's hearing loss (Mavrolas,…

The impact of bilingual exposure on language learning has not been systematically studied in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. This study compared the social abilities and language levels of children (mean age = 56 months) with ASDs from bilingual (n = 45) and monolingual (n = 30) environments. Bilingually-exposed children were subgrouped…

Prospective questionnaire data from a longitudinal population sample on children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), developmental delay, specific language impairment, or typical development (TD), were collected at ages eight, 12 and 24 months, via the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scale Developmental Profile (CSBS)--Infant Toddler…

The purpose of this study was to determine if the Gearing Up for Kindergarten program created a significant impact on parent understanding of children's development and aspects of school readiness. Parent perceptions of their child's readiness to make the transition to school were also assessed. The study also measured the Gearing Up for…

The study evaluates a social-communication-based approach to autism intervention aimed at improving the social interaction skills of children with autism spectrum disorder. We report preliminary results from an ongoing randomized controlled trial of 51 children aged 2 years 0 months to 4 years 11 months. Participants were assigned to either a…